Recently, I have been on a meatless kick and I have been experimenting with a bunch of different recipes tweaking and adjusting the ingredients for my dietary needs as I go.
I love the challenge of creating foods with ingredients I may have never tried before, or trying recipes that still can taste good with foods limitations. Perhaps, it’s because I have dietary restrictions and it makes it all the more fun for me experimenting and coming up with new ways of eating old favorites.
One of these favorites I have been truly salivating for is homemade spaghetti and meatballs, without the meat.
So after experimenting, I found a pretty close comparable substitute to have for “Spaghetti Sundays” or a really tasty appetizer for the holidays or get-togethers with family and friends!
These zucchini balls turned out really good and the green color was very noticeable when paired with my sauce. However, don’t ask my husband who was not much of a fan, but that’s okay. At least he tried them and I am sure with a few more tweaks these too, will become a staple for him!
I think he may have liked them better if I had added some cheese in the mixture. So on a side note, these may be bland for some people which is where adding some other ingredients can really make the flavors pop or just add to it.
However, you decide to make these tasty treats have fun with them. I will definitely be making these again and I am sure I will adjust the recipe yet again!
Ingredients:
- 2-3 raw Zucchini
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 cup Namaste Foods Quinoa Flour
- 1/2 cup Flaxseed flour
- 1-2 Eggs…or if you are sticking with a vegan diet then use another binder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- Fresh herbs: basil, parsley
**Optional: you can also add cheese to these zucchini balls too if you want to add additional flavor.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Wash the zucchini and remove the ends, keep the skin on for extra fiber and color.
- In a blender or food processor, finely crush the zucchini, slowly add the eggs, garlic, flour, salt, and herbs and pulse a few times to blend.
- It will form a moist batter that comes easily together. If the mixture is too sticky, simply add a bit more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until you can easily shape balls with your hands.
- I like to form smaller zucchini balls when I make this about the size of golf size balls.
- Either use a slightly greased baking sheet or in my case I used a slightly greased mini muffin pan and placed each balls in the mini muffin pan. I used spray olive oil to grease my pan.
- Shape the balls until no more batter left.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the outside is golden and crispy.
- Serve immediately or if making Spaghetti sauce add the zucchini balls into the sauce and serve!
Happy 4th of July…Fruit Cups with Honey Lime Vinaigrette
LEMONBERRY & FIG 